The moment Trebol was about to respond, the Den Den Mushi in Doflamingo's hand suddenly shifted its expression into that of a woman wearing light rose-colored lipstick.
"Fufufu, Ma…ster, I already guessed you would ask about Kongming's whereabouts. I've investigated in advance. Rear Admiral Kongming has been reassigned to Marine G-10 Branch. The commanding officer there is Marine Vice Admiral Saul. I hear he's quite a capable one."
"Marine G-10 Branch, hm? Good work, Stussy. If you need any reward, just say the word." Doflamingo spoke boldly through the Den Den Mushi. Merit must be rewarded—otherwise, how could subordinates be expected to obey?
"Ma…ster, I need nothing. Being able to serve Ma…ster already makes Stussy very happy."
Her directives had been rewritten, after all; Stussy's heart belonged only to Doflamingo.
Doflamingo was not surprised by her answer, but he did not let the matter drop. Instead, he instructed her to find Trebol and collect five million Berries for personal shopping. Truthfully, even without the gold from Skypiea, Doflamingo was never lacking for money—much less after acquiring it. And Stussy was, after all, a woman; and what woman did not enjoy shopping?
Once he had Stussy hand the Den Den Mushi back to Trebol, Doflamingo discussed the Family's recent developments in the North Blue and told Trebol to pay attention to a woman named Scylla, who might join them in the near future.
Then Doflamingo hung up and flew directly toward his destination—Marine G-10 Branch.
G-10 Branch was located in the first half of the Grand Line, near the midsector of the Sixth Route. Under Vice Admiral Saul's command, pirates in these waters acted extremely cautiously. Whenever they saw a Marine flag, they would typically choose to avoid confrontation altogether.
Because of this, patrol missions in the area were very relaxed. Combat almost never occurred. And even when it did, it was usually some reckless new pirate attacking foolishly. For the Marines, such cases were trivial to handle.
This environment naturally caused Saul's men to grow lax—none of them believed anyone would dare provoke them within their patrol zone.
Such a lax Marine atmosphere quickly seeped into the freshly transferred Rear Admiral Kongming as well. Piloting his personal warship, he was filled with bright hopes for the future.
Ever since his recent report to Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Sengoku had reassigned him here, under Vice Admiral Saul. Everyone in the Marines knew that Saul was the type who fiercely protected his own, never allowing his subordinates to suffer even the slightest injustice. Serving under a commander like that was practically guaranteed military achievement.
Kongming was a man who relied on his wits. When Sengoku transferred him, he immediately understood the meaning: the time to choose a faction was now, and the one with the stronger backing was obvious.
Humming a tune and stroking his small moustache, Kongming had completely cast aside the fear he felt from Doflamingo's threat weeks earlier. Why? Because Doflamingo had not come for him in nearly a month. It made Kongming feel Sengoku might have been right—perhaps Doflamingo's warning had been nothing more than bluster.
This world… no one could define it clearly. But one truth never changed:
Change always came faster than plans.
Accidents always came faster than effort.
Just as Kongming was humming his tune, taking out a telescope to observe seabirds and practice his shooting aim, a sudden wave of deathly dread engulfed him. Looking through the lens, he saw a streak of blue lightning approach like teleportation.
"It's over…"
Kongming's heart turned cold. What was meant to come had finally come. Even though his body froze with terror, his instinct to survive made him dial for emergency support.
But he managed only a few words before a pillar of thunder crashed precisely onto him.
He didn't even have time to scream.
Kongming became a charred corpse.
After he died, Doflamingo reverted to his human form above the warship, muttering:
"I said I'd kill you within a month, so I killed you within a month. Otherwise you'd think I was joking. Remember this—when you get to hell, try to learn some wisdom."
Whether Kongming could hear him or not did not matter. Doflamingo simply needed to vent his anger.
As for the Marines on board—Doflamingo had no intention of leaving survivors. Kongming had clearly placed a distress call before dying. That meant Vice Admiral Saul, the famed gentle giant, was likely on his way. And Doflamingo wouldn't mind meeting him.
Like a cat toying with a mouse, Doflamingo shaped a throne of lightning in midair, and while waiting for Saul to arrive, he slaughtered the Marines on the warship one by one.
Saul lived up to his reputation as a Giant Vice Admiral—and as one of the Marines' most beloved figures. In less than half an hour, Saul's warship appeared before Doflamingo.
With his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki), Saul didn't need to get close to sense the tragedy aboard Kongming's ship. Every Marine corpse radiated terror and unwillingness—their final moments marked by something beyond imagination.
Seeing this, Saul, who cherished his men like family, could not remain calm. He immediately prepared to charge in and deal a heavy blow to whoever had done this.
But before he could move, he was blocked by a young female officer—curvy, short curly hair, sharp and competent.
"Vice Admiral Saul, please calm down!"
"Captain Dora, he killed Kongming and the other 212 brothers! Why are you stopping me?!"
Saul's voice carried anger; he even reverted to calling his adjutant by rank, clearly displeased.
But though she was only a captain, the fact that she became a Vice Admiral's adjutant as a woman already proved her capability. Calm, intelligent, and unafraid, Dora analyzed coolly:
"Vice Admiral Saul, we do not yet know who the enemy is. Acting rashly will only cause more casualties. He has not fled even now. If he's not a fool, then he must be extremely confident. We must observe, identify the attacker, and then decide our course."
"…Fine. Dora, you're right. We can't afford more deaths.
Can you tell who he is?"
Saul's popularity came not only from his strength and kindness toward subordinates, but also from his ability to listen and accept sound advice.
Dora bit her lip lightly, gazing at the distant Doflamingo seated arrogantly on a lightning throne, one leg casually crossed. In her mind, she began filtering all known potential culprits.
First, remove bounty hunters and merchants.
No matter how bold they were, none would dare massacre an entire Marine warship.
Then it had to be a pirate.
Many pirates possessed lightning-like abilities, but none demonstrated lightning this pure and refined.
No—
Wait.
Recently, a bounty had been issued for a Rumble-Rumble Fruit user—Doflamingo.
And rumor said he held a personal grudge against Rear Admiral Kongming.
In that case, everything lined up perfectly.
The young man before them was almost certainly the Rumble-Rumble Fruit user—Doflamingo.
(End of Chapter)
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